China's Foreign Ministry says Arsenal's Mesut Özil was "completely deceived by fake news and false statements" when the midfielder criticised the country’s policy toward its Muslim Uighur minority.
Özil took to Instagram last week, describing Uighurs in far north-western China as "warriors who resist persecution".
"Qurans are burned, mosques were closed down, Islamic theological schools, madrasas were banned, religious scholars were killed one by one," he wrote.
Arsenal distanced itself from Özil's comments, saying that they were entirely his personal opinion.
China’s state broadcaster CCTV later removed Arsenal’s Premier League game against Manchester City from its Sunday broadcast schedule.
The footballer has faced severe backlash from Chinese fans. Source: AAP
The United Nations and human rights groups estimate that between 1 million and 2 million people, mostly ethnic Uighur Muslims, have been detained in harsh conditions in Xinjiang as part of what Beijing calls an anti-terrorism campaign.
China has repeatedly denied any mistreatment of Uighurs.
Foreign Ministry spokesman later Geng Shuang criticised the footballer at a press briefing.
"I don’t know if Mr Özil has ever been to Xinjiang personally but he’s been completely deceived by fake news and false statements have influenced his judgment," he said.
"We also welcome Mr. Özil to come to Xinjiang if he has the chance, to take a walk and look around, as long as he has a conscience, is able to distinguish right from wrong and uphold the principles of objectivity and fairness, he will see a different Xinjiang."
